"Okay, here we go," Nico said, kicking her front door open, stepping inside, assisting Emily with a passed-out Nate.
After Nico found her friends at the party, Evan was helping Emily guide Nate to the exit because Nate was too drunk to stand walk on his own. After they successfully got Nate into the car, Nico suggested that it would be better for Nate to sleepover, making it easier to take care of him since his family wasn't home. After saying goodbye to Evan Nico'sclimb in the car, Emily drove back to Nico's house. On the way, Emily offered that she would stay and help bring Nate inside. Emily's offering to say over made it much more manageable to Nico. Once Nate was inside the house, Nico shifted a bit so that all of her weight was on her right side to steady Nate better. So she turned her head, getting a better look at Emily as she walked inside the house, closing and locking the door behind her.
"So, where are we putting him?" Emily asked, walking next to Nate, grabbing his arm, placing it around her shoulders.
"Where else the couch. Nate is too heavy to bring upstairs, especially like this. He is practically dead weight," Nico said, placing a hand on his back, guiding him towards the couch. Emily nodded and started walking with Nico towards the sofa.
"Ugh, why is he so heavy" Emily complained as she tried to hold Nate steady.
"I don't know, but I do know we should have just asked Evan to come because, with his help, this would have been much easier," Nico said, getting a better grip on Nate.
"Yeah, not gonna happen," Emily mummer causing Nico to groan.
"What is your problem with him? I thought that you guys were getting along just fine," Nico said, looking around Nate to Emily.
"I don't- look, can we focus on putting Nate on the couch instead of talking about this," Emily said as both of them reached the couch.
"Fine, how are we going to do this?" Nico asked, looking down at the couch and then back at Emily.
"No clue," Emily said. Nico sighed and guided Nate to the couch, and Emily held him steady as Nico lowered him towards the sofa. Once Nate was on the couch, Nico and Emily stepped back and looked at Nate sitting awkwardly.
"That was work," Nico said, running a hand through her curls.
"Yeah, but don't you think that this looks uncomfortable," Emily asked.
Nico looked back at Nate's slouch form, and his body was starting to lean forward. Before Nico could respond, Nate's body slid off the couch landed on the ground with a heavy thud. Nico and Emily looked at Nate, who was now lying sprawled out on the floor.
"Yeah, he's staying there. I'm not moving him," Nico said, crossing her arms switching her gaze from Nate to Emily.
"So now what," Emily asked, and Nico turned on her heels and headed towards the stairs.
"I'm going to grab him a blanket and some pj's you can wear for tonight," Nico said.
"Okay," Emily said, sitting on the chair, slipping her heels off, and tossing them to the side.
Nico walked up the stairs, grabbed some blankets and pj's for Emily before coming back down the stairs, gave her the clothes, and threw a blanket on Nate, wishing Emily a good night before proceeding toward her bedroom. Nico walked into her room, closed her door behind her, and strolled toward her bed, kicking her heels off throwing herself onto her bed. Nico laid there for a while before pushing herself off the bed to change into her pajamas. As Nico was changing, she heard her phone vibrating on her bed. She walked up to her bed and grabbed her cellphone, turning it on, seeing that she had got a message. Nico opened her phone and noticed the message.
Zane: Hey, did you make it home, okay?
Zane: This is Zane, by the way.
Nico lay on her bed, feeling happiness rise from her chest as she responded to Zane.
Nico: Hey. Yea, I did.
Nico: Thanks for asking.
Zane: Good so, wyd?
Nico: Nothing now. I just finished changing into my pj's.
Zane: Man, now I regret not coming with you
Nico: I don't
Zane: Ouch
Nico: So is there a reason why you are texting me so late
Zane: What I can't be concerned about if you made it home
Nico: No, you can, but aren't you forgetting that you are my neighbor, and you can see if I made it home by just looking out your window, duh
Zane: True, but this is much easier
Nico: What do you want, Zane?
Zane: Fine, I just wanted to see if you read through that journal yet.
Zane: It's been on my mind since we talked about it
Nico: No, not yet, but I am defiantly going to look through it tonight, especially those names
Zane: Need an extra hand
Nico: No, I'm okay, and besides, my friends are camped out in the living room
Zane: Again!? Don't they have a home to go to?
Nico: Lol. You know I asked that question every time they sleepover.
Zane: Ha, how about we discuss it tomorrow afternoon
Nico: Sorry, I can't. hanging out with my friends
Zane: Okay, well, I guess we'll talk about it on Monday before the first period
Nico: I don't get why you are so eager about this
Zane: Well, what can I say...I am a sucker for a good mystery
Nico: Right, well, I am going to go. I got some reading to do
Nico: See you Monday
Zane: Wait before you go. Can I ask you something?
Nico: What's up
Zane: So?
Zane: What are you wearing?
Nico: And that ends our conversation right here Goodnight Zane
Nico rolled her eyes and rolled over, placing her phone on top of her nightstand. Nico reached down, opened the drawer in her nightstand, and pulled out the journal she had been so desperate to read since the party. Nico leaned back, pressing her back against the headboard, crossing her legs, unraveling the string opening the book, started rereading the first page. Nico flipped to the page with the list of names Zane was telling her about, and she arched her eyebrow, looking at the names.
"Something is off," Nico thought.
The list went on for about three pages, but that is not what confused Nico. Beside each name were some kind of notes written in scripts. Nico turned to other pages and noticed that those notes were on every page. Nico leaned over, reaching into her nightstand, pulling out a notebook and pen, and wrote every scripted note she saw, seeing if there was a pattern that Nico was missing. Nico started to fall deeper into finding hidden messages, and she concluded that there is more to this than the writer is letting on. She was going to find out what they were hiding.
"Nico, honey, are you awake?" Nico's dad said, knocking on the door a couple of times, checking on his daughter.
After a couple more knocks and no response from his daughter, her dad opened the door and noticed that Nico was still asleep. Nico's dad chuckled at the scene he saw in front of him. Nico was lying on the bed, passed out with a book open, lying across her chest with her still holding it. Nico's dad walked up to her and noticed one of her binders was lying there and papers scattered around with many numbers written on them.
"Hm, maybe she was doing math," Nico's dad thought and shook her slightly. Nico stirred a little in her sleep, slowly opened her eyes, and met her dad looking at her. She sat up, and the book fell off her chest onto the bed.
"Is everything okay, dad?" Nico asks, rubbing her eyes.
"I was letting you know that breakfast is ready unless you want to skip it," her dad said.
"No. No, I'll be down," Nico said, and her dad nodded his head, walked toward the door, stood in the doorway, and stopped in place.
"One thing do you want to tell me why a hungover Nate is sitting in my kitchen eat my food with Emily," Nico's dad said, looking at Nico.
"Um, well, the party we went to had some drinks there, and Nate had a couple. So I thought it would be easier to let him nap here than be alone at home, and Emily volunteer to stay over," Nico said, rubbing the back of her neck, looking everywhere but her dad.
"Who was driving," Nico's dad asked, leaning against the door frame with his arm crossed.
"Emily," Nico said.
"I see. Were you drinking too?" Her dad said, and Nico looked up at her dad, confused.
"No, I didn't," Nico said. Her dad stood there in silence before sighing.
"Okay, come down for breakfast before your friends eat them all," He said before turning around and walking out, leaving Nico alone.
Nico sighed and stretched before getting off her bed. She turned around, grabbing the papers scattered around her bed, shoving them in her binder before walking over towards her desk placing it on top of it. Nico scratched her head, looking down at her binder before walking towards her bedroom door.
Nico walked down the stairs and heard Emily talking to her dad, thanking him for breakfast. Nico walked into the kitchen looking at Emily sitting at the table drinking coffee, looking at her dad. Her dad was at the stove removing pancakes from the pan and onto the plate next to him, smiling at Emily. Nico looked over at Nate, sitting at the table with his head down and a plate full of untouched food sitting in front of him. Nate looked up at Nico, standing in the doorway, and he looked horrible. Nico shrugged her shoulders, walked further into the kitchen, and sat in the chair next to Emily.
"Good morning, sleeping beauty," Emily said, smiling at her, taking a sip of her coffee.
"Moring Emily seems like you are in a good mood, unlike some people," Nico said, glancing over at Nate, who looked angry.
"Well, I would be in a better mood if I didn't wake up on the floor," Nate grumbled.
"Take this at a lesson that you shouldn't drink," Emily nagged, and Nate groaned.
"Alright. Alright, you don't have to be so loud." Nate said.
"Oh. IS THIS TOO LOUD?" Emily yelled, causing Nate to wince. Nico chuckled at Emily. Her dad walked up to them, placing a plate full of pancakes in Nico's front before sitting next to her with a coffee cup.
"Nate, you should eat. It will sober you up," Nico's dad said, sipping at his coffee, and Nate only nodded his head before digging into his plate.
"You know I said that same thing to you. How come you listen to Nico's dad but not me?" Emily asked, looking at Nate taking a long sip of her coffee.
"Have you seen him? If he told me to jump off a cliff, I would do it without any hesitation," Nate said, pointing a fork at Nico's dad.
"Well, that is my cue to leave," Greyson said, clearing his throat getting up from his chair.
"Yeah, I think that is best," Nico said, taking another sip of her coffee.
"So, what are your plans for today," Greyson asked, looking at the group.
"Probably go to Joe's and just see what the day brings us. What about you," Nico said.
"Oh, you know the usual," Nico's dad said.
"Let me guess sleep," Nico said.
"You know it," Greyson said, walking over to the sink putting his cup in it.
"Good, you need it," Nico said, crossing her arms looking at her dad.
"Yea, you're right," He walked up to Nico ruffling her hair. "Before you go, don't forget to come and wake me up and let me know that you are leaving," He said, and Nico nodded her head, and Nico's dad walked out of the kitchen, leaving her and her friends alone.
"So, what are we doing?" Emily asked.
"I don't know as long as it does not involve alcohol," Nate said, pushing his now empty plate towards the center of the table.
"Well, I am cashing in on my free meal at Joe's, but other than that, no clue," Nico said, grabbing the plate and hers, getting up, walking over to the sink, putting the place inside before turning the water and started to clean them.
"Ugh, I forgot about that," Nate groaned, rubbing his temples.
"Why don't we go to the bowling alley?" Emily asked, taking a sip of her coffee.
"Yeah, we can do that," Nate said.
"Great, so we'll go to Joe's after bowling," Emily said. Nico nodded, finished up on the last of the dishes, and dried her hands, sitting back in the chair.
"Since we are going to the bowling alley. Nate, why don't you invite Evan?" Nico suggested, and Nate looked at her in surprise, then back at the table with a sad look on his face.
"I don't know. I am pretty sure Evan doesn't want to see me again after how I acted last night," Nate said, rubbing the back of his neck.
"You'll never know if you don't ask him," Nico said, leaning back into her chair.
"I guess you have a good point," Nate reluctantly said.
"And besides, it gives us a better opportunity to get to know him in a calmer setting. Right, Emily?" Nico asked, looking at Emily, who was silent. Nico tapped at the space in front of Emily, pulling her out of her trance, making Emily look at Nico confused but was soon replaced with understatement. Emily looked at Nate nodding her head in agreement before taking another sip of her coffee.
"Okay, well, I'll text him," Nate said, pulling out his phone texting Evan. Then, after a few moments, Nate smiled, looking up at Nico and Emily. "He said yes. He is asking what time he will meet us there," Nate beamed.
"Tell him we'll be there at 7," Nico said.
Nate nodded and proceeded to text Evan back, trying to hide his smile but failing horribly. After a while, he placed his phone down and looked over at Emily, who was silently sipping her drink.
"So since we are inviting people. Em, why don't you invite Andy?" Nate asked, making Emily choke on her coffee.
"W-what why," Emily said, placing her cup down looking over at Nate with a troubled look on her face.
"Well, why not? He is a pretty good guy, and Evan will have another guy to talk to," Nate said
"What about you," Emily said, raising an eyebrow at him, confused.
"A guy he is not dating," Nate said, waving Emily off.
"You know that does make sense," Nico said. Emily looked at the two with an unamused look on her face, and the girl leaned back in her chair, crossing her arms.
"No, I am not doing it," Emily stated.
"Fine, then I'll ask him," Nate said, shrugging his shoulder before texting Andy.
"Nate, he is not going to agree to this, and how did you get his number," Emily asked.
"Simple, I just asked him, and he gave it to me. It is a thing called communication," Nate said, shrugging his shoulders, and Emily groaned, slipping deeper into her chair.
"I don't know why you are bugging out about this. It is not a big deal," Nico said, looking at Emily. She sat up looked at Nico, but before she could say anything, Nate interrupted them.
"Well, it doesn't matter because he said yes," Nate said, showing Emily his response leaving Emily to groan, covering her face sinking back into her chair.
"Man, it must suck to be you. Glad I don't have someone I like," Nico said, chucking at Emily. Emily peaked through her finger, looking at Nico, and lowered her hands, staring at Nico.
"You know, something just dawned on me," Emily said, slowly sitting up from her chair, placing a finger on her chin.
"What," Nico asked, arching an eyebrow at her.
"Last night at the party, you disappeared for a while, and when you came back, you looked different," Emily stated.
"Different? What does that mean?" Nico asked, taking a long sip of her coffee avoiding Emily's eye contact.
"It means something happens. Did it?" Emily asked.
"You caught me. I didn't actually go out. I had to leave because the town was in danger and I had to save it. I was supposed to keep this a secret, but guys, I am batman," Nico said in a deep voice, and Nate snorted.
"Come on, Nico, you know what I mean," Emily said, huffing in frustration.
"I really don't know what you mean," Nico said, shrugging her shoulders.
"You know I think Emily is right," Nate quipped.
"What are you talking Nate? You were drunk last night, remember?" Nico said.
"Well yeah, but even though I was drunk, I remember everything, and that means I remember what you were wearing, and that was a red dress and some cute heels. I didn't remember adding a leather jacket to that mix," Nate said, rubbing his chin.
"That's right, she was still wearing that jacket even when we were dragging you into the house," Emily said, facing Nate pointing at him.
"You know it is just a jacket. It is no big deal. Did you guys ever think that I brought it with me because I was wearing little to nothing last night," Nico said, crossing her arms.
"Yea, true, but the differenced between your jackets and that jacket is much bigger, and I would know if you had a leather jacket in your closet," Nate said, leaning forward.
"How do you know that," Emily said, bewildered at Nate's well-known knowledge of Nico's wardrobe.
"You tend to notice a lot of things when you are always in Nico's closet," Nate said, shrugging his shoulders.
"You know I should ask questions, but I don't want to," Emily said, and Nate waved her off.
Nico mentally curses herself because she should've given him that jacket back instead and listened to him when he said to keep it. Nico had one thought in her mind: was he always nice like this to everyone or only with her. Nico forced those questions to the back of her head, focusing on her friends talking in front of her. Then, suddenly an idea came to mind. Before Nico could execute this plan, Nate spoke up.
"So, are you going to tell us who gave you the jacket," Nate said. Nico sucked in her breath shot up from her chair, looking at her friends before spinning on her heels walking out of her kitchen. Nate and Emily shared a look of confusion with each other before getting up, following Nico.
"Uh, Nico, are you going to tell us what is going on?" Emily asked, but Nico stopped looking at her best friends.
"No," Nico said and started to walk up the stairs with Emily and Nate in tow.
Nico entered her room and headed towards her closet, opened it, and started to look through it. Nate and Emily looked at each other before looking back at Nico, even more confused.
"What do you mean no," Emily said, crossing her arms. Nico turned around, holding up two shirts with an innocent look on her face.
"Which shirt should I wear? I am leaning more towards this shirt." Nico said, holding up a plain grey short sleeve shirt. Emily tilted her head in confusion, looking at Nico. Still, before she could call her out for changing the subject, Nate interrupted.
"You are so not wearing that shirt tonight," Nate said.
"What I think it looks cute," Nico said, shrugging her shoulders.
"Over my dead body, you are not wearing that," Nate said, walking up to Nico, snatching the grey shirt out of her hand, and starting to look through her closet. Emily looked at the two, and it finally clicked when she watched Nico smirking at Nate.
"Nate, what the hell? You are not going to say anything. She totally played you," Emily said.
"There are more pressing matters to deal with. You really will let your friend leave the house looking like a mess. I don't know about you, but I am not letting her leave this house. I am saving her from becoming a fashion nightmare," Nate said. Nate pulled out a black shirt with some tears on it, revealing bits of a white shirt underneath, holding it against Nico before putting the shirt back into the closet.
Emily sighed, running a hand down her face sitting down on Nico's bed, watching the two conversate about what to wear for tonight. Emily scanned Nico's room, and her eyes caught something that was resting on her chair, and it was the jacket. Emily smirked because Nico was hiding something and would find out what that was.
After Nate picked out Nico's outfit, he decided to head home, shower, and properly get ready because he wanted to look good for Evan. Emily and Nate left Nico's and told her they would be back later to pick her up and make sure she was ready and left Nico alone. Nico walked around in her room and decided to clean up a little before going out. Nico walked towards her bed and pulled the covers off, tossing them on the floor. Nico heard a heavy thud and stared at her sheets, confused; she grabbed the ends of her sheet and shook it a little higher in the air until something fell out. Nico placed the blanket on her bed, looked down to see what fell, and noticed that it was the book she had spent all night reading. After talking with Zane, Nico read through the book, and after reading the book, it left her with more questions than answers. She spent most of the night trying to crack one page full of numbers that made no sense to her, thinking that maybe she needed a rest and work on it another day, placing the book on her nightstand. Nico required more time to figure out what this book was about and needed a day to do this with no distractions.
Nico finished up with her cleaning laying down on her bed, taking a glance at the clock on her wall, seeing that it was six o'clock, so she had about an hour before she had to go. Nico sighed, getting up from her bed stretching before walking towards her desk to where a clothes pile lay. She grabbed the clothes and headed to the shower. After half an hour, Nico walked back into her bedroom with a different outfit on. Nico was wearing black jeans and a red V-neck t-shirt with black combat boots tieing the look together. Nico walked towards her mirror and brushed her hair into a half ponytail. Nico looked at herself one last time before grabbing her phone off the nightstand, looking through it to see what notifications she had. Nico received two messages from Nate telling Nico that they were on their way. The other was from Zane Nico opened her phone and clicked on Zane's messages that she sent ten minutes ago.
Zane: Hey, you got a minute?
Nico tilted her head in confusion to Zane's text but responded.
Nico: Yea, I can spare you a few.
Nico sat on her bed, and her phone vibrated again.
Zane: You still home?
Nico: Yea, my friends, are on the way. Why?
Zane: I need a favor.
Zane: Can you help me out.
Nico: Depends on the favor
Zane: You are good at math, right?
Nico: I mean, I get top grades in that class, so I think so.
Zane: Well, you know that test coming up?
Nico: Yea, the one next week?
Zane: Yes
Zane: Do you think you can help me pass the test?
Nico: You want me to tutor you?
Zane: Yes, please
Nico: Why?
Zane: Well, I need to pass this test to play this game this week.
Nico: I see
Zane: Yea, so can you do it?
Before Nico could respond, she received a text from Nate saying they were here. Nico responded, telling them that she was coming before switching back to her's and Zane's conversation.
Nico: Meet me in the school library and the hour before the first period. I'll give you ten minutes. If you don't show up, then you are on your own.
Zane: Wow, you are strict
Nico: Do you want the tutoring or not?
Zane: Yes. Yes, I do.
Nico: Good, then be there tomorrow morning.
Zane: I will thank you.
Nico: Yea, yea I gotta go
Nico: See you tomorrow.
Zane: See you, Ms. tutor
Nico rolled her eyes, turning off her phone before sliding it into her back pocket before grabbing the jacket on her chair putting it on before heading out the door, excited for what the night unfolds for her.